I know the best ferret motto I've heard came from here, but can't recall who
first wrote it.  The phrase is: Nothing gets more fun from life than a
ferret!
 
Now more somber:
It has been pointed out that in a perfect world all our states would already
have quarantines for ferrets and no more ferrets would be involved in rabies
shedding studies.  Unfortunately, this is far from a perfect world, and
sometimes we have to make our decisions based upon what we as individuals
feel is the best choice among painful alternatives.  Some people feel they
can give to health studies but not to the shedding studies, others look at
individual states currently sacrificing each year more ferrets than will be
used in the series of shedding studies when done, and at their own state's
refusal to have legislated quarantines until they can refer to the completed
studies and think of the hundreds of ferrets who could die each year without
them and therefore feel they must support the studies to save so very, very
many, especially when they are in states where the political support for a
quarantine as soon as the studies are finished is strong.
 
Some here might want to flame either choice after reading the particulars,
but, please, don't.  Folks deciding either way realize that either of the
two choices could destroy ferrets and either could save ferrets, depending
on many factors which are not in the control of any of us.
 
We all have to just figure out our own ways to help ferrets and then do our
best, knowing that we can never be more than fallible humans.
 
Sukie
[Posted in FML issue 1962]